E T Consultant

Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. Visit <www.worldbank.org>. The World Bank's Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice has been providing sustained technical assistance (TA) to South Africa's financial sector through successive phases of the Financial Sector Development and Reform Program (FSDRP), funded through the Finance for Development (F4D) Umbrella Trust Fund with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). FSDRP1 and FSDRP2 have delivered significant milestones, including the establishment of the Twin Peaks regulatory architecture, the operationalization of the Corporation for Deposit Insurance (CODI), legislative reforms addressing FATF grey-listing requirements, advancements in digital financial services, and a comprehensive financial inclusion policy framework. FSDRP Phase 3 (FSDRP3) builds on these foundations to consolidate and institutionalize reforms across six strategic areas: financial sector resilience, financial integrity, financial inclusion and digital financial services, financial consumer protection and market conduct, financial sector distribution network development, and MSME access to finance. The program has four pillars aligned with the F4D Umbrella Trust Fund framework and includes a rapid response window. In parallel, the World Bank is implementing a Visa Foundation-funded project titled "Closing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion – South Africa", which focuses on advancing women's financial inclusion and addressing gender-based disparities within the financial system, with particular attention to women-owned MSMEs (WMSMEs), microfinance institutions, and the cooperative financial sector. The World Bank FCI team also maintains a growing engagement in Namibia, supporting financial sector development activities that complement regional integration efforts under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) framework. To support the operational and analytical demands of this multi-workstream program, the FCI team seeks to recruit an Extended Term Consultant (ETC) to be based in the World Bank's South Africa Country Office. Objective of the Assignment The ETC will provide high-quality operational, research, and advisory leadership across South Africa and Namibia. Scope of Services South Africa: FSDRP3 – Financial Sector Development and Reform Program Phase 3: - The ETC will be responsible for the following across the FSDRP3 activities: • Leading government stakeholder engagement and facilitating policy dialogue on behalf of the World Bank • Thought leadership and research (including on the National Financial Inclusion Monitor, the National Financial Education Strategy and Community Digitization Project) • Preparing the program's Trust Fund Advisory Group (TFAG) reports (bi-annual), implementation progress reports, and donor briefings. • Leading the organization and documentation of Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) meetings. • Managing technical leads, reviewing outputs and maintaining project momentum. • Preparing analytical notes, policy briefs, presentations, and stakeholder communications as required. Visa Foundation Project – Closing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion: - The ETC will be responsible for the following across the Visa Foundation Project activities: • Leading engagement with government stakeholders and facilitating policy dialogue on behalf of the World Bank • Leading knowledge activities, including policy notes, and case studies, capturing lessons from WMSME financial inclusion activities (including the Microfinance Landscaping Study and Informal business support report) • Reporting on project outputs and outcomes against the F4D results framework. • Managing technical leads, reviewing outputs (including the Cooperative Finance white paper) and maintaining project momentum. CMU Support: - The ETC will lead additional World Bank FCI engagements in the Southern African financial sector, including but not limited to: • Leading analytical and research on emerging financial sector issues • Leading stakeholder engagement with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), National Treasury (NT), FSCA, and other counterparts • Conducting advisory services and analytics (ASA) activities or lending activities that may be initiated during the contract period. • Coordination with other World Bank teams (including Macroeconomics, Poverty, and Governance) on cross-cutting financial sector issues. Namibia: -The ETC will be the lead counterpart on the financial sector agenda in Namibia, including; • Leading to financial sector analytical work and assessments • Leading Reimbursable Advisory Service (RAS) engagement with Namibian counterparts, including the Bank of Namibia (BoN) and the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA). Ensuring timeliness and quality control of deliverables. • Engaging counterparts on potential new RAS activities and working with other GPs (Energy, SPJ, AG) and IFC to explore collaboration. • Preparing briefing notes, technical reports, and stakeholder communications related to Namibia financial sector activities. • Leading Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) follow-on activities in Namibia, including tracking implementation of FSAP recommendations, preparing progress notes, and engagement with Namibian authorities on priority reform areas identified in the FSAP. Conducting missions to Namibia as required.